Their use of stored food. 

 Place in window boxes, watch growth and later give a place in the garden. 



For arbor day set out maples and nut tiees. 

 In the garden set out turnips, kohlrabi, parsnips, carrots and beets in order to 



get the flowers and seeds. 



Bulbous plants to illustrate use of stored food, planted in the fall. 

 Lessons in transplanting, cultivating and fertilizing soil. 



Individual flower-beds giving freedom of choice. 

 Competitive flower rearing with dwarf nasturtium. 

 Experiments and observations of same plant growing in various soils. 

 Compare ripe and unripe fruits with reference to presence of starch and sugar. 



Danger from unripe fruits. 



Action of saliva on starch and necessity for thorough mastication. 

 Suspend a large moist sponge and sprinkle over it a liberal supply of flax seed. 



SUGGESTIONS TO FOURTH GRADE TEACHER. 



Domesticated hares and rabbits are now so common that no special difficulty will be 

 encountered in having a live specimen at school. A pet squirrel will be more difficult to find, 

 and if it can not be secured a good mounted specimen, (Ward's Natural Science Establish- 

 ment, Rochester, N. Y.) should be provided. These two related forms are taken for the 

 purpose of showing the advantage that comes to the individual from the storage of food. The 

 most interesting work for the child will center around the differences of habits, size, structure 

 and enemies, arising from the fact that one digs its coarse, innutritions food from the ground 

 and the other gets its rich, oily food from the trees. A collection of pictures will be needed 

 in order to present the varieties of rabbits and squirrels and other gnawing animals. As 

 many skulls to show the teeth should be provided as is feasible. These may be prepared by 

 removing the skin and flesh and placing the fkull in an ant-hill for cleaning. Get a collection 

 of nuts of various kinds that have been opened by red squirrels. From the wood yard speci- 

 mens of squirrels' homes may often be procured. 



In taking up the grains in the fall the entire plants should first be studied. If permitted, 

 the children will discover the essential physical properties of starch stored away in the grains. 

 The iodine solution for the recognition of starch is very easily prepared by dropping into water 

 a few scales of the solid iodine obtained from the drug-store. It should be strong enough to 

 give the rich blue or purple color and not so deep as to appear black. Several small bottles 

 of the solution, with medicine droppers, should be provided. To separate starch from the 

 potato, cut into fine bits, shake in water and while the water is milky pour off and allow to 

 settle. Pour off the excess of water without disturbing the starch and repeat as often as 

 desired. Finally allow the last of the water to evaporate so as to get the dry starch. The 

 winter experiments are for the purpose of showing that starch will not dissolve in cold water, 

 but will do so in hot water. The filter paper may be procured from the chemical laboratory 

 or the drug- store and is used to separate the undissolved granules before testing. An oppor- 

 tunity is afforded for developing simple phases of domestic science work from the Nature 

 work, or where this is not desired, of illustrating these processes in the school-room. 



Suitable twigs for the log-cabin and a supply of clay for the adobe house should be laid 

 in during the fall. A mould for the bricks should first be made, holding, say a half dozen, 

 moistened and sprinkled with sand each time to keep the bricks from sticking. A thatched 

 roof of grasses may be provided for the adobe house and one of bark or split twigs for the log 

 house. The children will be able to design and make pieces of pottery without any instruction 

 quite as good as primitive man was first able to make. If the teacher is at all enterprising 

 she can readily learn and teach the simple methods used by the lower races today. If thor- 

 oughly dried the smaller pieces may be burned in furnaces and anthracite stoves, while the 

 larger pieces may have fires built in and around them upon the school grounds. Save the 

 best pieces for the school collection and try to secure specimens of Indian pottery for compar- 

 ison. In modelling the hand mills from clay care should be taken that the children do not 

 see the actual utensils used by primitive man until their own work has been done, when the 

 real stone implements may be exhibited and studied. 



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